SS The Queen (1916)
SS The Queen Wreck Dive — Dover Strait History
Join Mutiny Diving for an SS The Queen wreck dive off Dover and explore a Channel ferry caught up in the First Battle of the Dover Strait. From carrying passengers and troops to rescuing refugees, this ship had a remarkable career before her loss in October 1916.
Today, her upright wreck connects us with the people and ships that kept the Channel crossings running during the First World War.
SS The Queen: A Pioneering Channel Ferry
Built by William Denny & Brothers at Dumbarton, The Queen was launched on 4 April 1903 for the South Eastern & Chatham Railway. She was the first turbine steamer built for cross-Channel service.
Three steam turbines drove three propellers, giving her a speed of around 21 knots. At approximately 94.5 metres long and 1,676 gross registered tons, she was built for fast passenger crossings.
She entered service between Dover and Calais in June 1903, then transferred to the Folkestone–Boulogne route in 1907.
From Passenger Ferry to Troop Transport
When the First World War began, The Queen took on wartime duties. She helped evacuate refugees and carried troops across the Channel to France.
On 26 October 1914, she helped rescue refugees from the French steamer Amiral Ganteaume after it was damaged by a torpedo. Exactly two years later, The Queen would become a casualty herself.
Her Final Voyage: Boulogne to Folkestone
On the night of 26 October 1916, The Queen was returning from Boulogne towards Folkestone with mail, having delivered troops to France.
Meanwhile, German torpedo boats were raiding the Dover Strait’s patrols and cross-Channel shipping routes. At around 11pm, the raiders intercepted The Queen near the Varne.
An officer from the German torpedo boat V80 boarded her. The captain and crew were allowed to take to the lifeboats before the ship was sunk.
Accounts differ over the final attack. Scottish Built Ships records a torpedo fired by S60, while the British official naval history describes gunfire. Both accounts agree that German surface warships captured and sank her after the crew abandoned ship.
The First Battle of the Dover Strait
The raid continued into the early hours of 27 October. German boats attacked the vessels guarding the Dover Barrage, while British destroyers attempted to intercept them.
HMS Flirt was sunk during the fighting, and HMS Nubian suffered severe damage. The Queen became one of the ships lost during a night that exposed the vulnerability of the Channel’s wartime transport routes.
Read more about the wider encounter in our First Battle of the Dover Strait article.
Remembering Lewis Harold Dilnot
Although the crew escaped the ship, one death is recorded in connection with her loss.
Cook Lewis Harold Dilnot died on 27 October 1916 and is buried in Folkestone’s Cheriton Road Cemetery. Reports differ over the precise circumstances of his injuries, so descriptions of the sinking as being “without loss of life” overlook his death.
His story is a reminder of the people behind the wrecks we visit.
Diving the Wreck of SS The Queen
Published descriptions place The Queen upright in approximately 30 metres of water off Dover. The depth on our dive will depend on the tide and conditions.
For wreck divers, her appeal reaches beyond the remains on the seabed. This was a ship that carried holidaymakers across the Channel, transported troops to France and helped bring refugees to safety.
Join us to explore a local wreck with a story spanning the Channel’s passenger trade and its wartime history.
